Chain hoist.



No. 833,258. l PATENTED OCT. 16, 1906.

` J. J. STOSICK.

CHAIN HOIST.

Y.uPLIoA'rIoH FILED 15.11.15, 190s.

2 BHBETS-BHEET 1.

PATENTED 00T. 16, 1906. J. J. STOSIGK.

CHAIN HOIST.

APPLIoATIoN FILED JAN. 15. 190e.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIOE.

CHAIN Y Specification of Letters Patent.

HlsT.

Patented Oct. 16, 1906.

Application filed January 15,1906. Serial llo. 296.072.

To all whom t may concern.;-

Be it known that I, JOSEPH J. STosrcK, residing in Milwaukee,` in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Chain Hoists, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are a part of this specification.

This invention relates to chain hoists, and has for its object to provide a chain hoist of the screw type, which may quickly be thrown out of gear torelease the load-chain when desired, and so permit the load-hook to be freely moved to the position of the load, thus dispensing with the usual tedious operation of feeding the free load-chain by means of the hand-wheel.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a chain hoist with means for automatically restoring the gearing to its operative condition when the hoisting operation is to begin.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists in the chain hoist herein described, its parts and combinations of parts, and all equivalents.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like characters of reference indicate the same parts in the several views, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a chain hoist constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional view thereof, the gearing being in mesh for the hoisting operation. Fig..3 is a similar view thereof with the gearing out of mesh to release the load-chain. Fig. 4 is an end elevation thereof with the gearing in mesh and Fig. 5 is a sectional plan view of the restoring-pinion, taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 2. e

In the drawings, 7 represents a pair of side plates forming the housing or framework of the chain hoist, through which is journaled a shaft 8, with its ends projecting on either side. the side plates is a core 9, to which is keyed a worm-wheel l0, and on the projecting ends ofthe shaft outside of the housing are keyed chain-sprockets 11, around which pass a pair of load-chains 12, suspending a forked 'loadhook 13.

A hand-wheel 14, having the usual handchain 15 passing therearound, is keyed to a Worm-shaft 16, which is journaled in a pair of slidable Ybearing-blocks 17 and 1.8, having a worm 19 therebetween, fixed on the worm- Rigidly secured on the shaft betweenshaft. The slidable bearing-blocks 17 and 18 have beveled or cam surfaces at their lower ends to ride upon the cam-shoulders of cross-pieces20, which are formed on a bottom plate 21, preferably integral with one of the side plates 7. These sliding bearingblocks 17 and 18 also have horizontal bottom surfaces to ride upon horizontal top surfaces of said cross-pieces 20, the slidable block 18 having its upper end recessed to avoid the worm-wheel 10 and also beveled at the same inclination as at the lower ends to ride'upo'n cam projections 22 on the inner surface of each of the side plates 7. When the bearingblocks 17 and 18 ride on the inclined surfaces of the cross-pieces 20 in the position shown in Fig. 3, the worm 19 is out of mesh with the worm-wheel 10 but when said slidable blocks ride upon the horizontal surfaces of the crosspieces, as shown in Fig. 2, the worm is in mesh with said Worm-wheel and is prevented from longitudinal movement by reason of the block 18 bearing against inwardly-extending stop-flanges 23 on the rear edges of the side plates 7. The bearing-blocks 17 and 18 serve as bearings for the worm-shaft 16 and are incapable of movement on said shaft, as they are confined between the ends of the worin 19 and suitable collars or flanges 24 on the shaft, said blocks also bearing against the side plates 7, to be held thereby against turning when the shaft is turned.

A restoring-pinion 25 has its trunnionstein extending across the housing beneath the worm 19, with its ends journaled in the side plates 7. It is a mutilated pinion or one having only a portion of the teeth of a complete pinion, there being no teeth on one side, A stationary tooth or stop-lug 26 projects upwardly from the bottom plate 21 in the path of the teeth of pinion 25, so as to be engaged by the end teeth thereof, but permitting the pinion to turn from one end tooth to the other, and a spring 27 surrounds the stem of the pinion with one end connected thereto and the other end bearing on the bottom plate 21 to hold the pinion normallyin the position shown in Fig. 2 with springpressure. The upper portions of the side plates 7 are braced apart by means of a spacing-lug 28 and have connected thereto a yoked. hook 29, by means of which the chain hoist is suspended from any desirable support.

In operation the chain hoist being in gear, as shown in Fig. 2, may be made to lift the load in the usual manner by turning the ICO Iquickly change the position of said hook, it

in Fig. 3.

hand-wheel 14 by means of the hand-chain 15, this movement being clockwise when viewing the hand-wheel from the left of Fig. 2. The turning of the worm-shaft 16 `by means of the hand-wheel will cause the worm 19 to turn, and as the block 18 is in engagement with the stop-fianges 23, and so prevents a longitudinal movement of the wormshaft, the worm forcibly rotates the wormwheel 10, vand with it the shaft 8 and the chain-sprockets 11, to raise the load held on hook 13 by means of theload-chain 12. While the load is suspended on the hook 13 it may be raised or lowered by turning the handwheel to the right or left without disengaging the gearing of the hoist, for the weight of the load serves to keep the worm-shaft in the position shown'in Fig. 2, the block 18 being held against the stop-flanges 23. When the load is released from` hook 13 and it is desired to is only necessary to pull slightly on the back chain or those portions of the loadchains which are not between the hook 13 and the chain-sprockets 11, so as to turn the worm-wheel 10 in a clockwise direction when viewed as shownin Figs. 2 and 3. By this means the worm, with its associated parts, is moved longitudinally away from the stopflanges 23, the slidable bearing-blocks 17 and 18 riding along the cross-pieces 20 first in a horizontal direction during the engagement of their horizontal faces and then in an inclined direction during the engagement of their beveled surfaces, thus dropping the worm out of mesh with the worm-wheel. The engagement of the worm 19 with the restoring-pinion 25, which takes place during this downward movement of the worm, does not interfere with such movement, for the pinion yields by turning in its bearings and against the pressure of its spring 27, so that all'of the parts assume the positions shown Now the load-chains are free to be raised and lowered without interference by the worm, and when the desired adjustment fof the hook 13 is accomplished and the gear- 'ing is again to be brought into 'mesh the handwheel is turned in the clockwise direction when viewed from the left of Fig. 3, which "turns the worm and first serves to turn the pinion 25 farther in the direction in which it was moved by the dropping of the pinion until the end tooth thereof, which was originally uppermost, is brought into engagement with the stationary stop-lug 26, and then the further turning of the worm feeds it to the right, so that its bearing-blocks 17 and 18 ride up the inclined surfaces of the crosspieces and the inclined guides 22 until the horizontal portions of the cross-pieces are reached. At this elevation the threads of the worm have come into mesh with the worm-wheel 10 and have passed out of engagement lwith the pinion 25, allowing said inion to be returned to its original position by the action of its spring 27. A continued turning of the worm in the same direction by its engagement with the worm-wheel 10, now held stationary by the load, forces the bearing-blocks 17 and 18 to slide along the horizontal surfaces of the cross-piece 20 until the bearing-block 18 engages the stop-anges 23. The further movement of the worm serves to turn the worm-wheel and lift the vload as before, for all of the parts have been restored to their normal condition, as shown in Fig. 2. Obviously the inclined guides 22 may be provided for the bearing-blocks 17 as well as for the bearing-blocks 18, though the device .constructed as here shown has been found to be thoroughly efficient, said inclined guides serving to prevent the bearing-blocl s leaving the cross-pieces 20 when the worm is out of gear with the worm-wheel.

It is obvious that by disengaging the gearing in a screw hoist in the simple manner provided for by this invention much time and labor are saved in avoiding the necessity for feeding the load-chain when loose by means of the hand-wheel, as is usually the case with hoists of this character. This simple and eficient means for throwing the chain hoist into and out of gear as here shown and described is subject to various alterations and modifications without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the claims.

The bearing-surfaces of the cross-pieces 20 are referred to in the specication and claims as being horizontal and inclined, though obviously in a different position of the chain hoist from that here shown they may not be considered to remain horizontal or inclined. However, for convenience the terms horizontal and inclined are preferred and are to be understood as including such variations in equivalent structures.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. In a chain hoist, a worm-wheel, a chainsprocket connected therewith, a load-chain mounted on the chain-sprocket, a worm for turning the worm-wheel, bearing-blocks in which the worm is journaled, and means on which the bearing-blocks are slidable to move the worm into and out -of mesh with the worin-wheel.

2. In a chain hoist, a worm-wheel having connection with the load-chain, a worm for turning the worm-wheel, means for mounting the worm to permit of its movement toward and away from the worm-wheel to bring it into and out of mesh therewith, said worin-wheel being adapted to be moved by the load-chain to move the worm on said means for removing the worm from 'mesh with the worm-wheel, and means for moving the worm to return it into mesh with the worin-wheel.

3. In a chain hoist, a worm-wheel having TOO IOS

connection with the load-chain, a worm for turning the worm-wheel, means for mounting the worm to permit of its movement toward and away from the wormwheel to bring it into and out of mesh therewith, said worm-wheel being adapted to be moved by the load-chain lto move the worm on said means for removing the worm from mesh with the worm-wheel, and means engaged by the worm when it is out of mesh with the worm-wheel to cause the turning of the worm to move said worm and return it into mesh with the worm-wheel.

4,. In a chain hoist, a worm-wheel having connection with the load-chain, a worm for turning the worm-wheel, bearingblocks in which the worm is journaled, means on which the bearing-blocks ride and have a horizontal and an inclined movement, whereby the worm is brought into and out of mesh with the worm-wheel, said worm-wheel being adapted to move the worm and its bearingblocks on said means to move the worm out of gear with the worm-wheel, and means engaged by the worm when it is out of gear with the worm-wheel for causing the turning of the worm to feed it and its bearing-blocks and bring the worm into gear with the wormwheel.

5. In a chain hoist, a worm-wheel having 'connection with the load-chain, a worm for turning the worm-wheel, bearing-blocks in which the worm is journaled, means onwhich the bearing-blocks ride and have a horizontal and an inclinedl movement whereby the Worm is brought into and out of mesh with the worm-wheel, said worm-wheel being adapted'to move the wormv and its bearingblocks on said means to move the worm out of gear with the worm-Wheel, and a springpressed pinion provided with a stop for limiting its movements and adapted to be engaged by the wormv when it is out of gear with the worm-wheel whereby the turning of the worm may cause it to be fed into gear with the worm-wheel. l

6. In a chain hoist, a worm-wheel having connection with the load-chain, a worm for worm may cause it to be fed into gear with the worm-wheel, and a stop for limiting the horizontal movement of the bearing-blocks.

7. In a chain hoist, a pair of side plates, a shaft j ournaled through the side plates, a worm-wheel fixed on the shaft between the side plates, chain-sprockets fixed on the projecting ends of the shaft, load-chains passing around the chain-sprockets, a hook connected to the load-chains, a bottom plate connecting the side plates, cross-pieces thereon having inclined and horizontal bearing-surfaces. bearing-blocks adapted to ride on the bearing-surfaces of the cross-pieces, inclined projections on the side plates against which one of the bearing-blocks rides, a worm-shaft journaled in the bearing-blocks, a worm on the worm-shaft adapted to mesh with the worm-wheel, shoulders on the worm-shaft for confining the bearing-blocks thereon, stops on the side plates for limiting the movement of the bearing-blocks, a mutilated pinion liournaled in the side plates and adapted tobe engaged by the worin when it is out of mesh with the worm-wheel, a stop on the bottom plate for engaging the teeth of the pinion and limiting its movements, a spring bearing on the pinion, and a hand-wheel on the worm-shaft.

In testimony whereof I aiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH J. STOSICK. Witnesses:

' R. S. C. CALDWELL,

ANNA F. SCHMIDTBAUER. 

